Diagnosis and surgical operation for 43 patients with pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor

Objective: To investigate the diagnosis and surgical management of pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor(PIP) to reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and enhance the curative effect.Methods: Forty-three patients with PIP underwent the operation including lobectomy in 29 patients,wedge excision in 11,total pneumonteony in 3.All patients were identified by pathological examination.Results: Thirty-seven patients were misdiagnosed before operation with the rate of misdiagnosis at 86%.Eighteen patients were misdiagnosed as lung cancer,13 as occupied lesion in the lung,5 as the pulmonary tuberculosis,1 as other.The thoracic empyema occurred in one patient.There were no other complications and death.All patients convalesced.Conclusions: PIP is a benign lesion.It lacks the characteristic of clinical presentations and imaging symptoms.The rate of misdiagnosis is high before operation so that it is necessary to improve the knowledge of PIP to reduce it.The main patterns of surgical management are lobectomy and tumor excision.The diagnosis and surgical pattern depend on the preoperative biopsy and the intraoperative frozen pathological section.